10 Wrestling Swerves That Actually Worked
2. Triple H Turns His Back On A DX Reunion (WWE Raw - 22 July 2002)
At Vengeance 2002, much was made of Triple H's decision. Would he join Eric Bischoff on Raw, or would he work under his storyline ex-wife Stephanie McMahon on SmackDown? Input from old pal Shawn Michaels made the choice easy. Trips was heading to Mondays so he could tear it up D-Generation X style with HBK, baby.
Kick, wham, Pedigree x2.
24 hours after the pay-per-view, Triple H turned on Shawn, spat on any DX reunion notion and sent shockwaves through the audience. This swerve (the idea that crotch-chopping degenerates were on the comeback trail when they weren't) had fans clamouring to see Michaels return to the ring and put his former friend in his place.
That's exactly what happened at SummerSlam, and it was exquisite. HBK, backed by an army of Triple H-hating DX'ers, slowly reintegrated himself to wrestling life and had a 2002-2010 run that arguably bettered his first one. Meanwhile, 'The Game' went on to form Evolution and lift both Randy Orton and Batista to new heights. Win-win.